Singapore is no doubt gastronomy capital. From the pineapple tarts and Pen cai of to Chinese New Year to the gourmet alcohol-spiked fruit cakes of Christmas, we Singaporeans are almost always on the lookout for what’s delicious and good. Aside from the perennial favourites of Champagne truffle & ganache snowskin from Raffles Hotel and D24 durian snowskin from Goodwood Park Hotel, Six&Seven brings you the low down on some of our local Mid-Autumn offerings.

The Regent Singapore

Traditional baked mooncakes:

Inspired by their flagship Italian restaurant, Basilico, the savoury, crunchy Parma ham & pork floss with assorted nuts returns to Summer Palace with its premium filling of 24-months cured Parma ham and generous serving of nuts, sesame and melon seeds. While this modern take on the traditional nuts filling mooncake may not please old fogeys, the subtle, dry pork floss lends a zing and a unique texture to the usual baked mooncake.

While the White lotus paste with yolk & melon seeds makes a cool alternative—literally—to the baked option, it was the Signature black sesame paste with melon seeds that was the highlight; its rich flavour develops nicely in the mouth as aroma fills the nostrils with each bite. The Italian spicy chocolate is an interesting flavour, with a smooth chocolaty taste that ends off with a spicy sensation on the tongue and throat.

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Singapore

Traditional baked mooncakes:

The Low sugar silver lotus paste & single yolk of Cherry Garden continues to impress for the smooth, not too sweet lotus paste that doesn’t stick to your teeth. The new tri-layer baked mooncake with Coconut-lotus paste, egg yolk & black sesame paste not only ensures that each portion is guaranteed a bite of the egg yolk, but also gives a good mix of textures and flavours in the mouth as the coconut accentuates the subtle lotus paste.

Aside from the delicious Snowskin with red date infused ganache, which has a strong taste of red dates without the sticky paste that usually follows, I found their alcoholic offerings to be pretty sublime. The Lychee martini chocolate truffle has a light, sweet taste without any obvious trace of alcohol—just like how any good martini should be. The Green tea & Japanese plum liquor flavour goes for the opposite effect; the plum liquor is strong and leaves a heavy taste on the tongue. If you like your Choya, this would be the snowskin for you.

For enquiries or to place orders, please call Cherry Garden at +65 68853541, 68853538 or e-mail mosin-mooncakes@mohg.com, or click HERE for order form.

Mandarin Orchard Singapore

Traditional baked mooncakes:

Of the various mooncakes, I found Mandarin Court’s traditional offerings to be most to my liking. The paste is smooth yet rich enough, and the skin thin with a homely, baked fragrance. The Mixed nuts & Jamon Iberico is a tad similar to Summer Palace’s, but it is overall slightly sweeter and chewier.

The Lychee martini presents a strong martini taste, that lingers even after the sweetness of the lychee has faded off. Definitely one for the alcoholics, or for boring family gatherings. Both the Raspberry and the Cheese with citrus were like creamy cakes that almost seem to melt in the mouth. The cheese variation especially reminded me of a good New York cheesecake, which flavour was enhanced by the citrusy zest.

Grand Hyatt Singapore

Traditional baked mooncakes:

While the paste for Grand Hyatt’s traditional mooncakes is rich without being too sweet, I felt the skin was slightly thicker than what I’d prefer—probably to hold up their heavier mooncakes. Still, the Sesame lotus single yolk with bamboo ash deserves a mention; the smooth, fragrant paste envelops the salted yolk, as the bamboo ash lends a very subtle aroma that lifts the sense upon chewing.

The Durian snowskin’s thick filling is rich yet smooth enough to seem almost like ingesting the real deal itself. While the Sea salt caramel truffle has a lush smokiness, I felt the snowskin itself masked a bit of the taste for this particular flavour. The Black sesame yuzu truffle is no doubt my pick of the lot; the layers of flavours are rounded off nicely by the hint of truffle, with a bit of crunch from the sesame seeds to play up the texture.

From 27 August to 12 September, enjoy 20% early bird discount when paying with selected credit cards. The same discount also applies to CATH, Damai Spa members and in-house guests only at Grand Hyatt Singapore. To place an order, kindly contact the shop at mezza9 at +65 68875492 or e-mail theshop.sg@hyatt.com.

Peony Jade

Traditional baked mooncakes:

It goes without saying that Peony Jade is the answer if you’re seeking the Shanghainese version of mooncakes. Baked to a fragrant, flaky finish, the Teochew ‘Orh Ni’ with golden pumpkin gets my vote. The pumpkin center is rich yet does not overpower the signature yam paste, working together to highlight the buttery exterior. The White lotus with black sesame & custard paste, with a light, soft custard center,is also a good option for those who don’t fancy the full flavour of salted eggs yolks.

The Pure Mao Shan Wang Durian in Organic Pandan Snowskin will probably be the closest competitor to Goodwood Park’s offering, with its rich, pungent bittersweet pulp—a close resemblance to the premium durians I just enjoyed at Resorts World Sentosa’s Durian Fest 2012. The Chempedaksnowskin, available in their set of 4 flavours, will definitely appeal to lovers of that aromatic fruit with its stringy, rich pulp.

Their version of Mini snowskin sea salt caramel with dark crunch pearls definitely captures the gist of the name, with a good salty taste that really brings out the caramel taste, and the chocolate pearls add another dimension when bitten on—giving it an almost fun element to eat.

Four Seasons Hotel Singapore

Mid-Autumn Festival mooncakes (4pcs per box):

Nestled in an elegant champagne gold box, which opens to reveal a glittery, traditional cheongsam print on individual mooncake packaging, is Jiang-Nan Chun’s answer to this year’s Mid-Autumn festival. No doubt one of the classier parcels one can look forward to receive, their handmade mooncakes are also a delight to savour.

The fillings of their traditional mooncakes are decidedly richer and slightly thicker than what I’ve previously sampled, though it does not stick to the teeth or gum. The Low sugar Pu’er tea paste & pine nuts boasted a robust tea flavour that complements the lotus paste well, with the addition of pine nuts to play up the texture. The Silver lotus paste & single yolk presents a smooth salted egg yolk center against the unadulterated taste of full lotus paste with a hint of smokiness. While I did not get to try the Bird’s nest with custard, I imagine this innovative take on two Chinese delicacies to be a divine experience.

For enquiries or orders, contact Jiang-Nan Chun’s hotline at +65 68317220, or email them here.

Häagen-Dazs

Signature ice cream mooncakes:

Never one to compromise in both quality and consistency for their ice cream is Häagen-Dazs, and the distinctive brand has brought what they’re famous for into their unique ice cream mooncakes selection this Mid-Autumn Festival.

While most veered towards the sweet Strawberry chocolate mooncake, filled with their premium signature strawberry ice cream, or the White chocolate mooncake, with the taste of cookies and cream that easily transports us back to our childhood years, I preferred the Dark chocolate mooncake. With a hard, dark chocolate coating—that can spell quite a mess when cutting their mooncakes—and a creamy chocolate filling, this ‘double chocolate’ combo is sure to send you into chocolate bliss. The crunchy praline base and a Mango sorbet ‘yolk’ in the centre—available for all flavours of the mooncakes—also adds to the unique dimensions of textures.

Through August 31, enjoy 25% off when you order a minimum of 2 boxes, and 15% (min. 2 boxes) or 20% (min. 3 boxes) off throughout the month of September. For enquiries, please call Häagen-Dazs customer service hotline at 1800 7321566, or email them here.

Crystal Jade

Traditional baked mooncakes:

From their traditional range, I found the Mixed nuts & ham to be of most interest—besides their special four- or five-yolked creations that definitely warrants a trip to the doctor’s or the nearest gym. The ham lent a heady, sweet scent that reminded me of freshly roasted pork to the pleasant, chewy amalgam. The new Mini tangerine pastemooncakes—that wasn’t too rich and tended to stick to the roof of my mouth—did not work for me, but the new Mini conpoy paste moooncakes provided a very appetizing, sweet-salty taste with its slightly textured paste, and is definitely something I hope will make it into their main collection.

Going beyond the traditional baked mooncakes, the brand also offers Teochew, Snowskin, Konnyaku and Yogurt pudding mooncakes. The Yogurt pudding mooncakes are basically identical to pudding desserts available at most Chinese restaurants though with a slightly firmer texture. The Mixed berries had bits of blueberry buried in it, and was reminiscent of blueberry yogurt, but I felt the slippery collection’s flavours were a tad synthetic.

This year, for each box of traditional mooncake sold, Crystal Jade will donate $1 to World Vision Singapore. From 27 August to 30 September, enjoy 15% off for all traditional and western mooncake gifts sets when paying with DBS/POSB cards. To place an order, kindly contact Crystal Jade mooncake hotline at +65 65120800 or e-mail happenings.sg@crystaljade.com.

The Paradise Group

Snowskin mooncakes:

Extremely befitting for this lunar year of the Dragon is the Paradise Group’s blue-and-white dragon porcelain design box that comes with this year’s selection of mooncakes. Catering to flavours that will probably appeal to the traditionalists or a more mature palate, I found the Mini red date with wolfberries snowskin to be rich with that distinctive red date taste while the touch of strawberry lends a slightly sweet ending note. Those who prefer something mellower can go for the Mini rose with purple glutinous snowskin—though the ‘rose’ flavour is seemingly muted in this combination—which reminded me of the wonderful warm taro milk tea I had in Taiwan.

From 19 August to 16 September 2012, ANZ and Citibank credit cardholders, as well as Paradise Gourmet Rewards members will enjoy 20% early bird discount on the mooncakes; from 17 to 30 September 2012, ANZ and Citibank credit cardholders, and Paradise Gourmet Rewards members will enjoy 10% discount. To order, call tel 6465 6565 or visit their website.

SunnyHills@Raffles Hotel

Signature gourmet pineapple cakes:

Sourced and baked daily from fresh, organic pineapples in Taiwan, SunnyHills offers an alternate ‘cake’ one can look forward to enjoy this Mid-Autumn Festival. Made and packaged with care in an adorable, special Moon Rabbit gift box and reusable linen carrier, it is also cleverly available for delivery with a gift card for your well wishes.

I’ve had the opportunity to sample the pineapple cakes from SunnyHills a few times now since the opening of its first outlet on our shores and I must commend the consistency and quality of their baked goods. Enveloped in a fragrant baked crust, the fibrous pineapple filling has a full flavour and just the right touch of chewy texture and sweetness in each bite.

Free delivery for orders of $100 and above (standard delivery fee: S$8), and a 10% discount on orders of $200 and above. For enquiries, please visit SunnyHills@Raffles Hotel, call their hotline at +65 85229605 , or email them here.